The Monster King's Legacy - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: An Unexpected Development Chapter 51: An Unexpected Development In the stone halls of Eryndale’s grand castle, Lord Darric sat upon his throne in the throne room.

His expression was cold, his gaze powerful, though, something about him felt out of place a bit.

“You’ve returned, General Haos.

How did it go?

Was there really a human ruling over goblins as the elves suggest?” He said.

“Indeed.” General Haos, the man who had paid Lance and his people a visit said as he walked forward, taking a seat in one of the provided seats for subjects.

“I see.

How was he?

Does he live up to the standard of the witch’s words?” Darric asked.

Instead of answering immediately, Haos looked at Darric with a blank expression on his face for a brief moment.

The atmosphere in the room changed immediately into a tense one, but under mere seconds, it came back to normal.

“Your soldiers will soon find out.” Darric let Haos’s words sit as he thought about it.

‘All this fuss… it better turn out good, if not… if not…’ Darric halted his thoughts, sighing faintly to relief his worry.

Even in his thoughts, he could not speak ill of his king.

Even though he was one of the weakest lords of the kingdom and mostly known by those of influence and position as a coward, he was still a lord.

“I will retire to my quarters for now.

Send a word when your soldiers return.” Haos said, rising up and then leaving the throne room.

After watching Haos leave in his own pace, Darric couldn’t help the sigh, his chin resting on his cheek with a tired expression.

“Colt,” he called out.

A man stepped forward, bowing in respect, “you called, my lord.” “Ready the soldiers for tomorrow.

Let’s get this over with.” He said.

“My lord, tomorrow?

They arrive late, a battle in the forest at night time won’t be best…” “It doesn’t matter.

Select the least of the grunts for this expedition.” Darric said, giving Colt a sudden realization.

“As you wish, my Lord.” He responded with a respectful bow of his head before leaving.

… Back at the camp, the goblins were prepared for the humans.

They didn’t return that day, and even though the goblins remained on high alert through out the next day, there was still no signs of the humans.

As night drew closer however, it became evident that the humans planned to attack them then.

Lance stood at the edge of the camp’s perimeter, his eyes fixed on the faint glow of torches in the distance.

“Are they’re trying to intimidate us,” Zarra said, her sharp eyes scanning the enemy’s approach from her perch in a tree above Lance.

“They think the light will scare us into submission?” She was picking up from similar tactics they had used before, though, that may not have been the case this time.

“They’re underestimating us,” Rynne replied, her voice calm but firm.

“And that’s exactly what we need.” … The soldiers finally came into view, as they moved in formation, their shields raised and weapons at the ready.

At their head was a stern-looking knight, his polished breastplate emblazoned with the crest of the human kingdom.

“Two dozen soldiers,” Zarra muttered.

“Heavy armor, standard weapons.

Their numbers are within your expectations.” She said to Lance.

“So, they are testing us in some way.” It was strange, and still didn’t understand the reason behind it.

Zarra smirked.

“What’s the plan?” “We stick to the plan.

Attack hard, but, minimize casualties,” Lance replied.

As always, the goblins greeted their enemies with traps, the only difference being that they were none fatal when compared to their usual traps.

Though, dislocating or cracking some bones still remained on the table.

“Watch your footing!” the knight barked; his voice sharp.

Lance immediately noticed that he remained back, while the soldiers continued forward.

The soldiers hesitated, their formation breaking slightly as they tried to navigate the uneven ground.

Without needing to be told, Zarra, from her position above, signaled her scouts, who began releasing small bursts of arrows from hidden vantage points.

The arrows weren’t meant to kill but to sow confusion as the primary objective, targeting shields and striking the ground near the soldiers’ feet.

Even then, they were tipped with blunt ends that could cause concoctions if they impact an unprotected head.

The soldiers responded as expected, raising their shields and tightening their formation under their commander’s instructions.

“Stay in formation!” he shouted.

“They’re trying to bait you!” As Lance listened, he picked up on something strange, ‘he uses you instead of us… for someone having to lead an inexperienced militant, he appears rather calm.’ Even though Lance felt like he had seen through something, he also acknowledged the possibility that he could just be reaching too deep.

The soldiers pressed forward, only to trigger another trap, a series of tripwires connected to small, weighted logs that swung down from the trees.

The logs struck several shields with a resounding crash, knocking a few soldiers off balance and adding to the chaos.

“They’ll think twice about calling goblins stupid after this,” Zarra said under her breath with a grin.

As the soldiers regrouped, Lance gave the signal for the next phase of the plan.

Rynne and her warriors, hidden in the shadows, began making noise-low growls, whispers, and the occasional sharp clang of a weapon striking a rock.

The sounds came from all directions, creating the illusion that the goblins were everywhere.

The soldiers spun in confusion, their movements growing erratic as they tried to identify the source of the noises.

“Hold your ground!” the knight roared, his voice palling in comparison to his nonchalant expression.

At a good moment, Rynne stepped into the open, standing just far enough away from the Knight.

“You’ve come a long way just to embarrass yourselves,” she called, her voice carrying over the clearing.

The knight remained composed, unnerved by her comments, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Lance, before turning to Rynne.

“You dare mock us?” “I dare point out the obvious,” Rynne replied, accompanying it with a scoff.

“You won’t be returning today.” “I have no business with you.” The knight said as he watched her with a cold stare, before shifting his gaze elsewhere, to Lance.

Several soldiers surged forward, only to trigger another line of traps-hidden snares that yanked them off their feet and left them dangling from the trees.

The remaining soldiers hesitated; their confidence shattered.

As the Knight watched, he shook his head slightly, “useless.” The knight took a step forward, his hand resting around the hilt of his sword.

In what appeared to be a single second, the man disappeared from where he stood, appearing before Lance who was farthest away in the battlefield, delivering a swig swing with a laid back motion.

Before Lance’s brain could even fully process what was going on, his body moved on its own, his hand moving to block the strike with his own sword he had sheathed by his side, not even having the luxury of taking out of its scabbard.

The force of the strike knocked him to the side a few feet, and the follow up attack was just as powerful as the first, the knight once again appearing to move faster than the eye could follow comfortably.

This time, Lance managed to block it with good form, his sword still unsheathed.

The force from the attack and the follow up block knocked up the dried leaves and small branches around to knee level, and before everything fell back down, the goblins dashed towards the knight, murderous intent clear in their eyes as they aimed to take off his head.

Rynne rushed towards Lance and the knight with her full might, Zarra jumped down from her perched position on a tree, Rikka rushed fort from her hidden position, and following them, several other capable goblins, including Dran, who ran just behind Rikka.

All of them, alongside the entire battlefield came to an abrupt stop following the knight’s gesture with his arm.

As soon as he raised his left arm which was free, he made a closing gesture with his open palm, following that, red chain-like vines appeared out of nowhere, binding everyone in place, friend and foe alike.

“Magic..” Rynne said in a strained voice.

During all this, the knight remained applying constant pressure on Lance, making him unable to retaliate in anyway, fighting to resist the enemy’s sword.

“This fight…” The Knight was about to say something, when a powerful wave of greenish energy rushed towards him, blowing everything in its part.

In a split second, he released the pressure from Lance, lifting his sword which he used to fend against the attack, turning it sideways and basically slapping the energy attack, dispersing it.

Lance used that opportunity to attack the knight, but a sudden attack with his leg pushed him backwards as he blocked.

The knight looked towards the side, catching Lia in his gaze before swinging his sword before she finished conjuring another spell.

His swing sent a wave of energy that looked like wind towards her, the attack looking fatal as it approached.

She immediately released the spell, the collision with the arc of energy from the sword sending her flying backwards.

As the knight’s sword lowered, he turned his attention to Lance who was already back to his feet.

“A shaman, I suppose.

Interesting.”